USNI News – Officially Saviz is a merchant ship, but it is most likely a covert Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forward base. Several open-source reports over the last several years and officials with Saudi Arabia have accused the ship of being operated by the IRGC.

– USNI News – An Iranian special forces team boarded and seized a Liberian tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates for about five hours on Wednesday. The action by Iranian forces drew swift condemnation from the U.S.-led collation created to deter harassment of merchant ships in and out of the Persian Gulf.

– Forbes – The saga of Iran’s fake aircraft carrier, intended as a propaganda coup, is turning into an own goal…

(Thanks to Alain)

– BBC – Iran has launched missiles at a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

– National Interest – One of their three Soviet-built Kilo-class submarines just might be out of commission.

(Thanks to Alain)

– Navy Times – As tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S., the Islamic Republic appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills.

– Navy Times – The U.S. Navy warned Tuesday it will take “lawful defensive measures” against vessels in the Mideast that come within 100 meters (yards) of its warships, offering specific guidelines after a recent close encounter with Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf.

– USNI News – The Navy’s existing policy for dealing with the small Iranian vessels prevalent in the Persian Gulf matches the sentiment of a Wednesday morning Tweet from President Donald Trump.

– The Hill – James Holmes writes that America’s coronavirus agony is Iran’s opportunity. Or at least the mullahs who rule the Islamic Republic may see it that way — rightly or wrongly.

– Defense News – Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announced Monday that it has significantly upgraded the range of its anti-warship missiles.

– BBC – The US Navy has accused Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) of “dangerous and provocative actions” in international waters in the Gulf.

– National Interest – How Iran could channel an old British strategy against Napoleon to fight U.S. forces in the Middle East.

– BBC – A British-flagged oil tanker has been seized in the Gulf by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Iran media say.

– War Zone – The Iranians initially said the ship had broken down and had asked for assistance, but now claim it was involved in smuggling fuel.

– BBC – The US military has released a video which it says shows Iranian special forces removing an unexploded mine from the side of an oil tanker damaged in an attack in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.

– BBC – Dozens of crew members have been rescued after abandoning two oil tankers hit by explosions in the Gulf of Oman.

– ABC – Following claims by Iran about why it deployed missiles in early May that led the U.S. to deploy an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region, a U.S. defense official has provided ABC News with new details about the intelligence that drove the Trump administration’s strong response.

– BBC – The United Arab Emirates has told the UN Security Council a “state actor” was most likely behind attacks on four tankers off its coast.

– Reuters – U.S. officials are now concerned that Iran has passed its naval combat expertise on to proxy forces in the region, whom Washington blames for attacks against four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.

– BBC – US investigators believe Iran or groups it supports used explosives to damage four ships off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday.

– National Interest – Would Iran close the Strait of Hormuz, could it, and would the United States reply by force of arms if Tehran made the attempt?

– USNI News – The Navy isn’t anticipating changes in how it deals with the naval branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as it operates in the Persian Gulf. The rules of engagement haven’t changed following the White House’s designation this week of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

– War Zone – Combined with larger, domestically-produced subs, the weapons could present new challenges for the country’s opponents.

– Fars News – Iran on Sunday launched its latest state-of-the-art submarine named Fateh in the Southern waters of the country.

– Navy Times – Iran’s navy has acquired two new mini submarines designed for operations in shallow waters such as the Persian Gulf.